BBMP to extend the OTS tax facility to khata-less properties
27 Jun 2024 CW Team
The owners of more than 0.5 million khata-less homes in the city will soon have the chance to take advantage of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike's (BBMP) one-time settlement (OTS) initiative and pay their property tax debts in order to avoid fines and interest.
According to BBMP officials, the rollout of the March OTS was delayed due to the Lok Sabha elections. It is anticipated that the scheme will generate between Rs 8 billion and Rs 10 billion annually.
Munish Moudgil, special commissioner (revenue), stated that approximately 0.7 million properties in the city are currently outside the property tax net. Recently, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar issued an order to bring these properties into the tax net by offering them special incentives.
Moudgil explained that some property owners who had not obtained khata from BBMP were not paying property tax. He mentioned that these owners could submit an online application and receive a provisional tax number. They would have the opportunity to pay their taxes by July 31, the deadline for the OTS scheme, thereby potentially saving significant amounts on penalties and interest.
Subsequently, revenue officials would verify the documents and issue a khata within three months. Any excess amount paid by property owners would be adjusted against the following year's tax liabilities.
Regarding the process, Moudgil outlined that property owners would log into BBMP's property tax SAS system using their mobile number and OTP. They would enter the registered sale deed or transfer deed number, and based on this information, details including property ownership and encumbrance certificates would be fetched from KAVERI-2. Property details such as photographs, GPS coordinates, and addresses would also need to be entered.
Verification would compare owner details with Aadhaar data against purchaser names obtained from KAVERI-2. If a match was found, owners could proceed to pay their property taxes. In cases of mismatches, the matter would be referred to an authorised revenue officer (ARO) or designated officer for review and decision-making.
Upon confirmation of details and matching criteria, a temporary SAS number would be generated for the property in the system. Owners would then complete Form 3 to provide property usage details and make payments covering applicable taxes, interest, and penalties under the OTS scheme.